Legendary professional wrestling commentator, Jim Ross, has spoken about why Chyna wasn’t at ringside during the infamous Montreal Screwjob in 1997.
On November 9, 1997, the world stood in shock as Shawn Michaels reversed Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter and the Vince McMahon – who was stationed ringside – rang for the bell and awarded ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ the WWF Championship.
Following the bout, Triple H made his way to the ring in order to help escort Michaels from the heated pro-Canadian arena but there was one notable exclusion from the scene. As cups and pure hatred reigned down on the D-Generation X members, there was no sign of their bodyguard, Chyna.
Taking to his Grilling JR Podcast, Jim Ross talked about that moment and what he was told in regards to Chyna’s absence during the final moments of one of wrestling’s most historic main events:
“When I came off the set, I don’t know where [Jerry] Lawler went, Vince grabbed me and said, ‘get in my office and lock the door’. I’m sure [Chyna] was told to get out as soon as she could facilitate it. I’m sure they had somebody there to get her to the hotel. That’s where I went, to the hotel, to my room and locked that door because you just didn’t know. You knew people were really really angry. You knew they were touched by this but you didn’t know how far they would go to express that anger.”
With Chyna nowhere to be seen, Ross believed that she, like so many of the locker room – Mick Foley fleeting quit the company following Survivor Series 1997 – were appalled at the actions of Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and Triple H who were all clued in as to what would occur and left the building before the bout began.
Survivor Series 1997 would mark the last time Bret Hart stepped into a WWF/WWE ring for twelve years and two months. He would undergo a notoriously poor run with World Championship Wrestling which ended less than three years later at the boot of Goldberg.
Credit for the interview: Grilling JR Podcast
h/t for the transcription: Wrestling Inc.